Qualtre (Marlborough, Mass.) claims its technology is lower powerthereby extending the battery life of mobile devicesand less expensive to manufacture since its silicon disks are smaller than the tuning-fork resonators used today. The company promises samples of its BAW-based gyroscopes later this year.

Qualtre's gyroscopes use a 600-by-35 micron silicon disk resonating in the MhZ range, with just a 180-nanometer gap between it and the electrodes ringing its edge. Motion causes a change in vibration modes in the disk which is detected as tiny deformations in the disk as it fights the coriolis force opposing its motion.

Because of mechanical gain in excess of 20,000, the mechanism uses less power, according to Qualtre.

The BAW technique also has a wider dynamic range, according to Qualtre, making its gyroscope useful for a wide variety of consumer applications, including handheld and console based gaming controllers, navigational devices, digital cameras, camcorders and remote controls.

Qualtre is currently pursuing a second round of financing to help bring its technology to market--its first round of funding being $5 million from Matrix Partners (Waltham, Mass.) and Pilot House Ventures (Boston) in 2008.